Assistant Professor of Nursing

Education

M.S.N., University of Phoenix Online, Phoenix, Arizona, 2008

B.S.N., Saint Xavier University, Chicago, Illinois, 1997

Professional and Personal Interests

Luke 18:27 reads, “What is impossible with men is possible with God.” This verse has been proven true to Janet Chaney many times throughout her nursing career, and has made a large impression on the way she views nursing.

Chaney felt called to become a nurse early on in her life, not to heal the sick on her own, but as she puts it, “to be an assistant to God’s healing power.” Her 16 years of nursing and teaching experience reaffirmed the idea that nurses are part of something much bigger than themselves.

“I believe that a nurse is an instrument of God. By teaching future nurses, I can prepare them to be shepherds to all people, just as Christ taught us to serve.”

Chaney’s position as an educator allows her to prepare nursing students in both scientific knowledge and their spiritual life.

“I can be his instrument in the classroom to help the students to realize God’s presence in them as they strive to achieve their goals,” Chaney said. “It is my responsibility to ensure that they realize that they, too, are instruments of God and that it is only by his grace that the sick will be healed.”

Chaney’s career path has involved working as a nurse, an associate professor at Joliet Junior College, a critical care educator, a nursing supervisor, and a professor of nursing at the Breckinridge School of Nursing at ITT Technical Institute. These experiences in nursing have given her a unique perspective and a grateful attitude.

“Every day that we wake up is a new beginning, and a blessing from God. In the nursing field, the miracle of life and good health is so obviously precious when compared to the sick and injured patients that we serve with God’s help. We need to take time to reflect and give thanks to God for the blessings he gives, and the help he provides.”

Professional and Personal Interests

“Whatever you do, in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” Colossians 3:17.

In accordance with this verse, Professor Marianne Schallmo finds that her career in nursing has pushed her to see the importance of blending her faith into every aspect of her life. “My life has been permeated with opportunities to blend my personal faith and my nursing profession into one,” Schallmo said.

The 24 years Schallmo has spent in the nursing field has included jobs in a community hospital, a level-one trauma hospital in a large city, a private physician practice, and a community college. Teaching gives her the opportunity to use those experiences as teaching tools, and to be a role model to a new generation of nurses.

Schallmo seeks to help students become life-long independent learners while keeping God at the center of their nursing careers.

“My job as a nurse is to take care of individuals from many walks of life, my job as a Christian is to show others God’s love through my actions,” Schallmo said. “Each individual is uniquely created with dignity and worth by God.”

Education

Professional and Personal Interests

After working as a registered nurse for more than a dozen years, Lorinda Lindemulder decided it was time to enter the classroom.

“I teach at Trinity Christian College because I feel in my heart that this is where God has called me to serve him. My main goal at Trinity is to share my passion for Christian nursing and to explore with students what it means to care for patients holistically.”

Lindemulder joined Trinity in 2000 after earning a master’s degree in nursing at Governor’s State University in University Park, Illinois. She had previously worked at MacNeal Hospital in Berwyn, Illinois, and Christ Hospital in Oak Lawn, Illinois. Her focus at Trinity is on adult health nursing.

“In the classroom I view students as unique individuals created in the image of God. I recognize that each student has a different learning style and has special gifts that can be shared with the group. In light of this, I utilize a variety of teaching styles to meet the needs of the learner and encourage each student to participate in classroom discussion.”

Lindemulder says she is most satisfied when working with students on an individual basis to discuss their individual perspectives, personal faith, life issues, and nursing experiences.

Away from the College, she enjoys reading, running, and spending time with her husband and three children. The Lindemulders live in Green Garden, Illinois, and attend Christ Community Church in Peotone, Illinois.

Education

Professional and Personal Interests

“Christian nurses have the unique opportunity to minister to others in their time of need,” said Tina Decker. “As a nursing educator, it is possible to prepare students to be ready to face the challenges of providing both spiritual and physical comfort.”

Decker, an experienced registered nurse and a graduate of Trinity Christian College, approaches this preparation in a fourfold manner, working with her students to help them discover how scriptural worldview, spiritual worship, spiritual warfare, and being a spiritual witness all tie into their education and future.

“Studying nursing as a science without a biblical perspective is incomplete. As a nursing professor, it is important to prepare students to use their talents for the Lord’s purpose,” said Decker. “At a Christian college, it is essential to teach students that through their actions they can influence others.”

Decker practices this in the classroom, drawing on her own experiences as a nursing student at Trinity and her four years of hands-on nursing experience at various Chicagoland hospitals.

“Nursing in particular is an area in which students will encounter evidence of living in a fallen world. Through actions and words, Christian nurses can shine Christ’s light to others,” said Decker.

She said her work experiences have provided situations that have shaped the service she provides. “As a nurse, I am working with diversity in regards to both my patients and even my co-workers. Often I provide care for people who do not have a Christian background. This presents the difficulty of being culturally sensitive, but still being a Christian and letting my light shine.”

Education

Professional and Personal Interests

For Maureen Sweeney, the profession of nursing is one of both knowledge and compassion, and her former students and colleagues can attest to her practice of both.

“The profession of nursing is about service: service to the patients, their families, and the broader community,” said Sweeney. “However, I also try to instill in my students the idea that the underpinnings of our profession demand knowledge and scholarship as well as care and compassion.”

It’s this passion for both faith and practice that guides Sweeney’s philosophy of education and her desire to be both an educator and a mentor. “I have taught students from a variety of backgrounds including different nationalities and religions. This diversity is the strength of Trinity. Meeting and interacting with one another enhances our appreciation for the oneness of humanity,” said Sweeney. “This interaction is vital for nursing students whose mission in their professional lives will be to provide compassion and care for all.”

Sweeney has had years of experience in the clinical setting, both as a nurse and an instructor, even serving as an adjunct professor at Trinity for five years before accepting a full-time staff position.

“I am continually impressed with how many of my students are comfortable with sharing their faith commitment openly with me and others,” said Sweeney. “It has given me insight into the depth of commitment one must make to truly living the Christian faith, and indeed it has strengthened my own faith.”

And for that reason, it is impossible for Sweeney to disconnect her faith from her work. “As Christians, we are called to serve. As Christ ministered to the sick and dying, nurses are called to provide comfort and compassion to those we serve.”